


Sincerity Is Not My Specialty

by BeezandBitches



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Brothers reconciling, Family Issues, Grandmaster holds Darryl's hand at every opportunity, Grandmaster is trying to be a better person, Light Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mostly The Collector's POV, Thanos didn't happen because fuck him, The collector and grandmaster are brothers, The profiteer doesnt have a name yet so I call her Abala, They have a strained relationship, Wedding, she definitely stole grandmaster's old casino
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25734757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeezandBitches/pseuds/BeezandBitches
Summary: "Australia was a lot of things. It was hot, cramped, and hosted wildlife that was comparable to some of the scariest and strangest creatures the galaxy had known.It was also the ideal spot for the wedding of one Darryl Jacobson and En Dwi “Grandmaster” Gast."
Relationships: En Dwi Gast | Grandmaster & Taneleer Tivan, En Dwi Gast | Grandmaster/Darryl Jacobson
Kudos: 10





	Sincerity Is Not My Specialty

**Author's Note:**

> I read all of Avengers: Infinity War Cosmic Quest Vol. 1 Yesterday and I.. I really like that the Grandmaster and Collector are canonical brothers. 
> 
> And no one can tell me Darryl and Grandmaster aren't in love after Team Darryl, ok?
> 
> I hope you enjoy, if you do leave a kudos and a comment down below. 
> 
> Have a lovely day!

Australia was a lot of things. It was hot, cramped, and hosted wildlife that was comparable to some of the scariest and strangest creatures the galaxy had known. It was also the ideal spot for the wedding of one Darryl Jacobson and En Dwi “Grandmaster” Gast.

It only made sense to host their wedding there, what with it being Darryl’s home country and all his family living there. Well, except for his cousin Shirley who lived in France, but that was one ticket compared to dozens more. Besides, it’s not like Grandmaster had a lot of people on his guest list- Darryl was somewhat relieved, as it came with a lot less explaining to do on his part when his family came up to him and asked who all the people in the funny costumes were and why were they at his wedding. Grandmaster’s list consisted of a handful of names, only enough to fit on one hand. For being such an outstandingly fun-loving, friendly guy, not a whole lot of beings made it up to a level in friendship where they’d get to come to his wedding. Save for one very important name, of course.

Taneleer Tivan, better known by the citizens of the universe as The Collector, parked his spaceship outside of the wedding venue, far enough away that he didn’t crush any of the parked cars by the front doors or block the traffic because he wasn’t interested in dealing with humans and their weak methods of transportation. He was dressed in his usual type of clothing, complicated suits of reds and blacks with an assortment of medals that he never really earned and a large white feather cape hanging off one of his shoulders. He added a few extra items for flare- a single crystal earring that dangled down to his chin, a fistful of rings, a type of shimmery black lipstick that complimented his eyes- because while he would never dare admit it, he was just as flashy as his brother. 

He walked into the venue behind a group of humans who were all talking amongst themselves about how funny this all was. It wasn’t like their Darryl to be so spontaneous! Guess America does that to a person. One moment you’re moving there for a brand new job, next thing you know you’re off in a whirlwind romance with your new roommate and getting married! How eccentric. At least he was happy. The Collector wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but from the sound of it, whoever his brother was marrying was definitely _not_ his usual brand of people. Grandmaster was a galactic icon with his taste for debauchery, his groom-to-be sounded like a square.

The seats were separated by which groom the guests knew. One was filled with a majority of Aussies, a few friends from America, and a French cousin. The other side had significantly less chairs, with only two chairs being occupied by two identical women in complementary colored dresses with matching, poofy hair tied up into large hairstyles. There were two other chairs available, marked with title cards. One read The Collector’s name, the other read their sister’s name. Something told him that Abala- The Profiteer- wouldn't be bothered to show up. He was surprised though, there was no chair for Topaz, his bodyguard? The Collector wondered if the two of them had some kind of falling out and she was a pile of melted goo sitting somewhere on a distant planet.

“Oh, Mr. Tivan,” One of the women whispered, tapping his shoulder. The Collector turned to look at her. She was the one in the gold dress with the silver makeup.“It’s an honor to meet you, sir. En Dwi told us all about you and your museum.”

“Did he now?” He said. He knew Grandmaster was always one to bring up the past- mostly to get a laugh at his expense, as he didn’t understand The Collector’s passion for- well, collecting. Sadly, his precious collection had been worse-for-wear for the last few planetary cycles, ever since Carina decided to betray him and try to claim the Power Stone as her own. After everything he had done for her!

“He did! He said you have the finest menagerie in all the universe. My sister and I have always wanted to take a trip out to Knowhere and take a tour. If it’s open, of course.” The Collector wasn’t expecting to re-open his museum any time soon to anyone. He barely left the confinement himself- but today was a special occasion. The woman blinked slightly, pulling her hand back. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Celaeno. This is Taygete.” The woman beside her in a silver dress and golden makeup waved at him. “We used to work for En Dwi on Sakaar.”

“A pleasure, ladies.” He nodded, hoping the conversation would end there. He wasn’t much of a social person, and he never really would be.

Thankfully, the sounds of instruments started to play clearly through the air. Finally, the wedding was starting. 

At the end of the aisle, Grandmaster stood there in possibly the fanciest outfit he had ever worn. And after living for thousands upon thousands of years wearing clothes that looked like they had been dipped in a puddle of gold, that was saying a lot. His outfit was some type of blue half-and-half robe and suit, with an extremely long train that was decorated with a golden trim. His makeup was shiny and stood out from a mile away. Gold decorated his sharp cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, with a nice highlighter to compliment it. The faint sliver of blue that came down his chin and his lower lip glistened against the lights. He wore so many jewels you might have mistaken him for an extremely flashy geologist or a grand-thief. He even wore a type of tiara, crowned with only the fanciest of Sakaarian gems. He definitely looked the part of a Galactic icon on their wedding day, despite the fanfare being rather small. But, that didn’t matter to him. His eyes weren’t on the crowd.

Darryl Jacobson was led down the aisle by his mother. His outfit was much more conservative than Grandmaster’s, sticking to a standard black tux and tie. He looked so incredibly nervous, with all eyes on him. The way he had a tight chokehold on his bouquet could’ve let that slip.

As he made his way up to Grandmaster’s side before the non-denominational judge, Darryl’s nerves seemed to melt as his gaze met Grandmaster’s. The faint softness in his growing smile made En Dwi feel like he was floating.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the union between Darryl Jacobson and En.. En Dwi Gast.” The judge said, trying his hardest to say the literal alien name in a way that didn’t disturb the ceremony.

The whole process went smoothly, The Collector watching boredly as the Earth ritual continued. Weddings in space had so many less rules, less long speeches by men in funny robes. Normally they weren’t even longer than a few minutes before the actual after-party would start. He just sighed, checking his watch, hoping it would end soon so he could get a drink.

“You may now exchange your vows.”

“Ahem,” Darryl cleared his throat. “En Dwi Gast.. After everything I had already been through, I didn’t expect to ever end up with another interstellar roommate,” The Collector raised an eyebrow. Another? He had to make note of that and ask his brother about it later. Not many beings from other worlds stopped on Earth- at least publicly, they didn’t. Earth was a bit of a shithole. “But, the time I’ve spent with you has been some of the craziest time in my whole life. I will admit, I wasn’t sure how well you’d adapt to living on Earth, with all your quirks and queries, but you surprised me. You are more than just any otherworldly alien trying to take over the planet, you’re the man I love. And I can’t wait to be by your side as you try.”

“Oh, Darryl,” Grandmaster sniffled, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve before taking Darryl’s hands in his. “That was beautiful.”

“And now you, En Dwi.” The judge said, getting a nod in response.

“Darryl, when I moved in with you, I had no idea I would be standing here like this. I had no idea I would’ve fallen in love with- well, anyone, but mostly a human. I’m thousands upon thousands of years old. I’ve seen worlds destroyed and galaxies erased from existence at the blink on an eye. I’ve lived my entire life chasing what I thought was my purpose, gaming the system and the universe at large.” The two of them curled their fingers together slowly. “But now I know my purpose is to be right here, with you. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of eternity with _you_. I love you, Darryl Jacobson. Until the day the universe goes dark and every day after.”

The Collector was genuinely surprised by his brother’s words. His brother and him were different in many regards, one being that while Grandmaster was known for the way he spread his own brand of ‘love’through the universe with debauchery and decadence, he had never truly loved anyone before. Not in the way he was talking now, at least. And to a _human,_ no less.. Well, the universe surprised him a little more every day.

After Darryl and Grandmaster shared a kiss that sealed their marriage pact, the party began right away. While the newlyweds were busy entertaining their guests, The Collector sat at the bar, sipping on a strange earthly mixture named ‘a rum and coke’. It didn’t taste bad at all, and it made it a lot easier to slide away from the festivities. He wasn’t a party guy, he never had been. He was just there to support his brother.

“Tivan!” Speak of the devil..

The Collector turned on the bar stool only to be smothered in a hug by his brother. As he squirmed in his embrace, Grandmaster only laughed.

“You made it!” He said, pulling away so his younger brother could breath. “I’m so glad you could. Long trip? Love the earring, by the way.”

“It’s good to see you too, En Dwi.” The Collector said as he straightened out his coat. “Not terribly long. A few wormhole jumps and I was here in record time. And thank you, it’s a part of my collection. I acquired it from a Krylorian diplomat.”

“Ah, of course. Had to kill them for it, I’m guessin’?” 

“I do not dirty my hands with such matters. It is beneath me. I have my connections do things of that matter.” The Collector acted as though he had never done some dirty work of his own, and that earned him a huge eye roll.

“Oh come _on_ , Tivs.” How The Collector _hated_ that nickname. “You act like you’re still all high and mighty. I heard about your little explosion, it rocked the whole galaxy.” He mentioned. _There_ was the Grandmaster that Taneleer Tivan knew and sometimes hated. Always cheeky and trying to one up his brother. Even as he was being married to an Earthling, he somehow tried to get a jab in. Sibling rivalries never did quite die, did they? “How sad. Your whole museum, ruined. Did that duck of yours survive? Howdy? Howie?”

“Howard.” The Collector corrected him. “And yes, he did. He along with many of my other oddities.” He mustn’t let him believe he truly fell so far from grace, he’d needed leverage to distract him- and frankly they were standing on a mountain of it. He crossed his arms over his chest, cocked an eyebrow, and smirked. “And you? How exactly did you find yourself on.. well, Earth of all places. This doesn’t seem like your usual style. Unless you’re trying to scale down.”

“Oh, please,” He laughed, seemingly unwavered. “Like I've ever been one to ‘scale down’. No, no, Tivan. You see, my plan is to take over this weird, greasy little planet as my next venture. Sakaar just got so boring after so many years there.” And the fact he was overthrown, but he didn’t need to let that slip.

“And to do that you had to marry a human? Don't forget where we are, brother.” The Grandmaster’s smile cracked for only a second, but his brother definitely saw it. Oh, and he was reveling in it. “Of course, I am happy for you. You _finally_ found someone in the entire universe who can put up with your boisterous nature.”

“What can I say? My husband is a man of many talents. When was the last time you had a date again, bro-bro? Sixteen _thousand_ years ago?”

As the two brothers traded backhanded compliments with one another, poison dripping of their words like sweat off a melting body, Darryl found his way over to Grandmaster’s side.

“En Dwi, there you are.” He said. “I need your help with those two ladies you invited. I’m not exactly sure what a Xandar is, and it sounds lovely but-“

“Ohh, Cel and Tay _love_ to vacation there. Haven’t been there myself in a while. Too many ugly people.” Grandmaster immediately took Darryl by the waist and pulled him close to his side. “Dare-bear, this is my brother, Taneleer Tivan. Tivan, this is my husband, Darryl Jacobson-Gast. Heh,” He giggled in his normal Grandmaster-y sort of way. “I like the sound of that already. Husband. Sounds so domestic.”

“A pleasure.” The Collector said as he and Darryl shook hands. “Congratulations on your union.”

“Very nice to meet you. En Dwi’s told me a lot about you.” Darryl said, which only further piqued his interest. Could Grandmaster just be unable to keep his brother’s name out of his mouth? “He says you’re a brilliant man.”

“Does he?”

“He does.”

“I do.” Grandmaster butted in. “I mean, obviously. You’re _my_ brother. Genius tends to strike twice in a family like ours.”

“Right, right..” The Collector murmured. “So, Darryl, how did you and my brother meet? He didn’t attempt to enslave your cities, did he?”

“Oh, no, no. He was the only one to answer my Craigslist ad for a roommate and things kind of just went from there.”

“Tivan, you know I hate the s-word. And any s-word related words.” Grandmaster groaned, pushing back his hair in a way that wouldn’t ruin what took him nearly two hours to do right.

“Find a better verb and perhaps, I'll use it.” That got him an apparent glare. “You mentioned during your speech that En Dwi was your _second_ intergalactic roommate? What’s the story there?”

“Oh, my whole family’s been asking the same thing.” Darryl half-chuckled awkwardly. “You see, before I moved out to America, I was rooming with Thor, one of the Avengers. Have you heard of him?” That made The Collector’s eyes go wide. Of course he knew who _Thor_ was. He had done much business with Asgardians in the past, including obtaining his prized Aether- which, lucky for his own sake, was safe from the blast created by the Power Stone. So, of course he knew of their prince. What kind of business did Thor have on a place like Earth, let alone rooming with someone so.. so.. milquetoast as Darryl?

“Yes, I have.” He nodded slowly.

“Hey, it’s funny because he ended up on Sakaar awhile back. Yeah, I had him fighting in my Contest of Champions and everything. No idea who he was at the time but Darryl’s really caught me up to speed.” Grandmaster said. “But, he and my Champion ran off together. It broke my heart, truly, but I suppose seduction makes people do crazy things. Even someone like the Hulk.”

“Dear, I’m not sure Thor and the Hulk are..” Darryl said, trying to have him fill in the blanks.

“No, no, I saw it with my own eyes. They’ve run off to honeymoon somewhere. Leaving me with their mess to clean up.” The Collector watched as his brother’s walls cracked- though barely, there was a way through his lies.

“Their mess?” He interjected. “What did they do to Sakaar?” Grandmaster looked as if he had seen a ghost- and his brother knew he had him.

“What?” He laughed nervously. “ _Nothing_. Nothing.. unfixable, of course.” 

“You told me they raised a revolution?” Darryl asked, and when his husband looked at him, he figured he wasn’t supposed to have said that. “ _Oh_.” He blinked. “I’m..” He pointed off toward the crowd of his own family. “Coming Mum! Sorry, I have to go.” And like that, Darryl dipped. Probably for the best, arguments between these brothers usually turned ugly very fast.

“A revolution?” The Collector chuckled. “And I thought you just had gotten bored of your old ventures.”

“Well- I _did_ , but-“

“But what, En Dwi?” The way his brother found the cracks in his defenses always annoyed Grandmaster. “But you lost your empire?” He laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. It was really funny, after all.

That’s when the realization hit him that his brother hadn’t made a saving throw at his dignity. As The Collector ceased his laughter, he just saw Grandmaster standing there, absolutely looking angry but with his lips clamped shut. He didn’t speak until after he finished completely.

“Yes, Tivan. You caught me. I lost my empire. I lost Sakaar to a bunch of prisoners-with-jobs.” Grandmaster said, throwing his hands up for dramatics. “I lost everything. I lost my wealth, my palace, my best friend! _Everything_! I’m not like you, where I could scrounge up a handful of things from a mess and still find value in it. All I have left from Sakaar is my melt-stick- which you should feel _lucky_ that Darryl made me leave it in the hotel room- and this on my head.” He pointed to the ringlet and huffed. “I did have Topaz’s armor, but after Darryl helped teach me how to cope with losing her, I buried it. It was supposed to be symbolic, or something like that. I don’t know!” He groaned.

“En Dwi-“

“So yeah, Tivs. I have nothing anymore. All I have is my husband and my pride, but now that ladder parts’ gone too because _you_ had to pry.” The Grandmaster slammed his hand on the bar. “I need a bottle. Don’t care which.” The bartender, recognizing you shouldn’t deny an angry groom, handed Grandmaster a bottle of something that hopefully wouldn’t cause a scene in an hour. He started necking it immediately, taking only a second to breath before speaking again. “And I get it, we’re brothers, we give each other shit all the time, but on _my wedding day_ you decide you gotta make fun of me for losing the _second_ place of my own! After Abala stole my casino from me, I thought things were looking up with Sakaar. Then I lost it.” 

The story about how their sister had stolen ownership of Grandmaster’s old casino, Casino Cósmico, was a short one but not one to be told now. It would only add to the sting Grandmaster felt. But, The Collector knew it well. He knew how poorly that had affected him. It’s the whole reason he had given Grandmaster the melt-stick to begin with- to try and make him feel a smidge better, in his own way. 

“Then I thought things were going well here on Earth for me, so I thought,” He took another swig. “‘Wow, crazy idea, I should invite my brother to share in on the most important day of my life as I get _married_. I haven’t seen him in so long and I miss him so much, maybe we can have a day where we don’t end up hating each other by the end of it.’.” He huffed. “But I guess I was wrong.” That’s when he turned and left, walking back to the main crowd of people- probably to talk about postage or something with one of Darryl’s great aunts.

The Collector sat at the bar, not even touching his drink anymore. He felt like an ass. More so than usual, because he _really_ pissed his brother off. Now what does he do? Well, he did what he knew best. Stay away and hope things settled down before he tried to speak to him again. 

Finding him in the crowd wasn’t hard as he was practically a walking disco ball. He was sitting by Darryl’s side, muttering about The Collector being a jackass, to which Darryl was apologizing for slipping up. Grandmaster sighed.

“I’m not mad at you, Darryl.” He said, taking his hand and curling their fingers together. “I just.. I wish sometimes it wasn’t so hard to deal with family.”

“I agree.” He turned to see his brother standing before him, hands raised slightly as if to say he came in peace. “En Dwi, I’m.. I’m sorry.”

“Heh, sure.” He muttered. “Like that time you were sorry for trying to stab me because I beat you at Moragian Checkers?”

“I mean it.” The Collector said. “Could I..?” He motioned to the spot beside Grandmaster, who grumbled but scooted over for his brother. “En Dwi, I didn’t mean to truly hurt your feelings regarding Sakaar. I just thought we were doing what we always do. Insult each other but with no meaning behind it. I mean- you did the same about my collection.” That’s when he turned to look at him.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, looking genuinely surprised.

“Bringing up the explosion. I could’ve sworn you were-“

“Oh! Ohhh..” Grandmaster blinked. “Tivan, I wasn’t trying to insult you. Genuinely, I’m so sorry your collection was ruined. I know how much you care about it. I’ve.. I've been trying to do this ‘sincerity’ thing, but I guess it doesn’t always work.” He laughed awkwardly. 

“You? Sincere?” The Collector asked, getting a nod in response. “En Dwi.. _What_ happened to you since you’ve landed on Earth? The brother I know wouldn’t have been sincere with me if our immortal lives depended on it.” 

“Yeah well, there’s a first time for everything. People change.” He said. Darryl squeezed his hand, and Grandmaster smiled softly. “Look, I don’t want to live the rest of forever acting like I hate you. I don’t. You’re my baby brother.”

“We’re a few milliseconds apart-“ The Collector tried to interject.

“My dear baby brother.” Grandmaster ignored that. “I may not ever really understand you, and you may never really understand me, but I just wanna be able to talk to you without something exploding or one of us storming off.”

“I.. I will admit, it has been a little lonely, since my collection was destroyed.” He said. “It would be nice to hear from you more.”

“You’re always welcome to visit.” Darryl said. “We have a spare bedroom now.”

“Right!” Grandmaster said. “You could come stay for the weekend with us in America! Earth has a lot of weird little things that I think you’d enjoy, Tivs. They have these little collectible toys and the point is to get all of them, and get this- they’re fake miniature versions of actual products that humans already make!” He laughed. “Crazy, right?”

“It’s not the skull of Jotunn, but it’ll do.” The Collector chuckled lightly. 

They spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing, reconnecting. And for once in a million-some years, they felt like brothers again.


End file.
